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And, not least, circumstances. By the way, why are you reading the Koran?"
    "It's Nader from work," Reilly said. "Nader talks about the Koran all the time. The most beautiful message about peace in the world."
    "If you're feeling that much guilt," Axel said, "then throw away the Koran and become a Catholic."
     
    Ingerid Moreno came to the door immediately to greet them. She no longer looked like the Ingerid they knew. Despair controlled her body like pain in every joint, and she moved around like an old woman. Axel got a cautious hug, but she was more reserved toward Reilly. As per usual Axel was sincere in his compassion. Why is that man not on the stage? Reilly thought, he's a born actor. But perhaps life itself was his stage and everyone he met his devoted audience. Ingerid invited them in. Reilly watched her large, heavy breasts undulate beneath her blouse. Jon used to lie at those breasts, Reilly thought, it must have been a good place to be. Jon did not take after his mother, he thought next. Jon was thin and slight, while Ingerid was plump and broad-shouldered. But the Italian Moreno, who was Jon's father, had been slight, too, he recalled. A small, slender guy who had left them when Jon was a little boy.
    "I know he found things difficult," Ingerid said. "Young people often do. But he was getting help."
    She looked at them across the table.
    "What do you think?" she asked. "Tell me what you think. You were with him that last evening."
    Reilly was unable to utter a single word, but Axel spoke freely, as he always did.
    "I suppose he was a little gloomy," he said, "a little low. He did not say much, you know what he was like. He didn't drink much either, Jon was quite restrained like that. He didn't do much crazy stuff, you need to know that, Ingerid."
    He opened his arms helplessly.
    "Anxiety is impossible," he said. "An enemy you can't see or hear."
    Ingerid Moreno started wringing her hands in her lap.
    "But when did it start?" she asked. "Did you notice when he first started to feel anxious? Did he talk about it? Was it last winter?"
    Axel and Reilly exchanged glances.
    "Did something happen? I've tried thinking back," she said, "but I can't put my finger on anything. Could it have been to do with a girl? Girlfriend trouble can get very bad, I know all about that, I was married to an Italian."
    Axel smiled a kind smile.
    "Jon wasn't involved with girls," he said. "Jon was very shy, you know that. If a girl even so much as looked at him, his ears would go bright red."
    "Yes," Ingerid remembered. "His ears used to go very red."
    She gave them a look of resignation.
    "When the hospital told me he was going on this trip, I was very skeptical. But when they explained he was going with you two, I was happy. Then I knew he would be in safe hands."
    Reilly felt a lump in his throat. He thought about their safe hands which had not managed to save Jon. His eyes sought the
window; they lingered on a treetop where a crow made a branch sway, slowly, like a child on a swing.
    "Shy or not," Ingerid said, "he did have a friend at Ladegården. Her name is Molly and she was in the same ward. Jon doesn't get close to people very easily so it made me happy. Because it's so important to have friends, and of course, a girlfriend. I had hoped that Molly might become his girlfriend. That he would finally have had someone to confide in."
    Her lower lip started to quiver.
    "I know he was holding something back," she hiccupped. "Mothers always know. But whenever I asked, he would draw back. It must have been something serious since he was too scared to tell me. That's what I thought. Something really serious."
    At this point Axel and Reilly both chose to nod emphatically.
    "His funeral is next Friday," Ingerid said. "At one o'clock. The vicar is coming tomorrow. I hope he is a considerate man and that he can find something to say, something meaningful. Please would you help me choose some music?" she asked. "What did Jon like to listen to?